Light
by HareLeona
Summary: He was walking in the forest. Everything was dark, but somebody could bring light on that sad daybreak. /One-shot/


The dense forest was around him. The wind raced through the trees quietly, making the newcomer shudder. The cold ran through his body, leaving a mild formication behind. He stepped forward to a thick tree. He lifted his frozen hand, and he stroked the hard, crusted surface with his numb fingers.

_It was dark, pitch dark._

The foliages' severe rustle filled the air. Some minutes later, loud knocking was audible from above. _Perhaps it's raining?_ Certainly. Under the trees, he felt nothing of the cascade. His sapphire eyes were glued to the bark. The cracked bark was still pressing against his palm. Although he couldn't see it, he knew it was _that_ tree. He began to stroke it with his thumb. His hand was moving up slowly, his fingertips scanned every millimeter. A manmade flaw blemished the bark around at eye level or a little bit higher. A faint smile appeared on his face. The engraved sign was so small that a knuckle could easily hide it, but still, its existence made him so happy. He had been afraid of it had already disappeared. That something had pulled it down or scraped it off. He had been afraid of what if he couldn't find _that_ tree. But he found them, both of them.

"There you are," a voice said suddenly. He turned towards the direction of the sound a bit, but he didn't move his hand.

"How did you find me?" he asked quietly.

"It wasn't hard," she replied calmly and approached him. When she reached him, she placed her hand on his hand, which was resting on the bark. "It's cold. You'll get sick."

"I'm fine."

"Come on, let's go home," she began to pull him gently by the hand, but his body didn't move.

"A minute..."

She sighed. "…Alright, one minute."

He turned back to the tree, and he leaned his forehead against the cold bark. He had released a big sigh before he touched the little sign again with nostalgia. That little sign was a little heart. From a distance, it was impossible to be seen. But now, he couldn't see it from close either.

_It was dark, inky dark._

"Remember, when we engraved this?" he asked with a little smile. He averted his head towards her.

"It wasn't nowadays," suddenly a huge grin spread over her face. "Just a little heart, no names, in that case, we break up, and then, I could use it with somebody else."

He chuckled a little, and a few moments later, he addressed his happy words in a whisper towards her. "Take that, you stayed with me."

She laughed. He hadn't heard her laughter for so long, and now, it echoed in the desolated forest. Her mate turned to her entirely, and he let go of the tree. He lifted his arms, and he held her soft cheek in his hand. His thumb stroked the beloved smile, and he felt the hidden emotion.

"It's okay, don't be sad."

"I'm not sad," she responded quickly.

"I don't need eyes to see you are sad."

"Leo..." her sad voice touched his ear-slits painfully. Leonardo took her hands in his ones, and he squeezed them tenderly.

"It wasn't your fault. I'll tell you this every day of the rest of my life if that's what it takes."

"But-"

"No buts," he pulled her into a warm embrace. The girl wrapped her arms around him tightly, and she ground her forehead desperately into his neck. They stood there for moments until the woman withdrew a little.

"I'm sorry..."

"Don't be..." Leonardo started forward and pulled her with his right hand. He was going ahead, in the dark.

_It was dark, completely dark._

"It grows light," she said silently.

_'It grows light and still, everything's so dark."_ he thought bitterly.

"Tell me what you see," he asked her, and he stopped. The girl turned to him surprisingly, but she understood quickly. Her gaze traveled up to the colorful sky, and she smiled softly.

"The Sun can be fully seen. There are some smaller clouds around it and a few bigger ones next to them. The Sun painted the sky red and orange with yellow stripes, but I can see faint pink and purple stains. I think they will dominate soon."

"Thank you, Karai. Watching the sunrise and the sunset... they are that I was enjoying the most with you," she looked at him sadly, she felt as her eyes began to water. "Thanks to you, I can still enjoy them, even if in a little different way," meanwhile their legs moved, and the footsteps continued. "Thanks to you, there is light for me too."

The tears spilled down her face. Karai stopped, and she wrapped her arms around Leonardo's neck. Leonardo clasped his arms around her waist affectionately. He held her tightly, smiling. He knew he wasn't alone. He knew he had something to live for. For somebody.

And then, there was light.

Light spread across, and the darkness disappeared.

_It was light, bright light._


End file.
